Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128347
Edwards To Yamaha Colin Edwards: One more race for Honda. Two-time World Superbike Champion I Colin Edwar ds has inked a contract that will see him on factory Yamaha Mis in the MotoGP World Cham pionship for the next two years, the Texan returning to the brand on which he started his profess ional career. "Most people know that I was with Yamaha between 1986 and 1997," Edwards said. "That' s II years . I started motocrossing with them and then went road racing. so they were kind of my teach ing grou nd. They were the ones that bro ught me up, invested the time and money to get me where I am today. I we nt to Honda for a while , won a couple of World Championships and started to get going, started to get into my prime , and they [Yamaha] want me back , which is the best thing. They are a company that wants you, and when you talk to them, they want you. It's not like, 'We' ll see how things pan out' - and that's awesome." Edwards will be six-time World Champion Valentino Rossi 's teammate, though the sponsorship package has yet to be confirmed. There is also rumor that Yamaha may not have a sponsor for next year, electing to keep the bikes in company colors to commemorate its 50th anniversary. Edwards won two World Superbike Championships on Castrol Hondas, then joined the factory Aprilia team for his debut in MotoGP.This year, Edwards was back on Hondas, riding for the Telef6nica MoviStar team alongside World Championship runner-up Sete Gibernau. Edwards is currently fifth in the MotoGP series standings after finishingfourth in the Australian Grand Prix on October I7. "I've never really felt like Honda wanted me ," Edwards said. "I only got the superbike ride because John Kocinski went to GPs and they needed to fill a spot . From that point on - and even after w inning Wor ld Championships - the moment after I won the second one , they were the first to kick me straight out. I was always on eggshells when I was with Honda and didn't really know what I was do ing from year to year. When you get in the team and every thing is running, then you have to do a job. It's just a different way of thinking. Honda says, 'We' ll let you ride this bike.' Yamaha is more, 'Will you ride this bike?' "Fausto [Gresini - the Telef6nica MoviStar team owner] had an op tion on me, and he knows that I haven't really been that happy since the seco nd and third races . I was asking for stuff and wanted to change things. With Honda, all I've ever done is developed and made bikes bette r, but I was asking for things and everybody else was getting it. That was a massive kick in the teeth. I'd show up and see the same shit I had the weekend befo re and the weekend before that, and just have the same prob lems all the time . Once you do that 900 times, it starts to get old pretty freakin' quick. You just have to keep the rider happy. If you keep the rider happy the n, shit, the rider will be at ease , riding a lot 6 better and have noth ing on his brain. This year, I'm turning up with shit on my brain about this or wanting to do that. At the moment, Honda just won't let you do that or change anything. "l'd say honestly around Motegi was when I new I'd be leaving. They [Honda] gave me a new chassis so I thought they were trying to say something like stay or whatever. But that's when I really got down to commun icating and sorting out the fine details with Yamaha. I agreed to everyt hing in Qatar and was so far down the river, that was it. Q ualifying in Qatar, though, made my mind up. My good chassis had a pro blem and I had to go out on the old chassis to qualify and I , didn't have two bikes. Then , right after that session, they rolled over with another chassis and said, 'Here you go, you get another one for tomorrow.' I'm thinking, 'Too little, too late.' That was one of my best weekends of the year, but that really pissed me off." The bottom line is that Edwards is happy to be back where he started. "I'm ecstatic to be at Yamaha," the Texan said. "There's a lot of guys that I was in World Superbikes with , so I'm excited to be back over there and start really enjoying working again. There's all kinds of writing on the wa ll, but another big thing was that if [Max] Biaggi goes to the [Honda] factory team, then he will develop the bike. I know at this moment in time I can't ride his bike. I know a little bit of how he sets it up, and it's the same with Sete [Gibernau] . My style is different than both of those guys. With Valentino [Rossi], I went to the [Suzuka] Eight-Hour and we had one bike each. We set the bikes and we were happy with each OCTOBER 27, 2004 • C Y CLE N EWS other 's bike. From what I reme mber, we were almost exactly the same. He added one more turn of preload on the front, so we 're pretty similar. Usually, you go to the EightHour and you're changing pegs and handlebars and shit . I expect fully that they [Yamaha] will be full-bore - every new piece , every new gadget, every new thing they could possibly throw at the bike. Valentino will try it first, but I'm getting it second and not last, fifth or sixth in line. With a factory team. there's no six-week or six-race delays - it's usually a couple of days or the next race you get new stuff. To be able to work with the bike and try ou t something different is what I want. I've not spoken to Rossi or [jeremy] Burgess about the bike. What can you get out of Burgess? He 'll say, 'You come over to this bike and its got chatter and this and that.' He'll just tell you what he wan ts you to hear. I get along good with him, and he rips me and I rip him - it doesn't matter." Edwards is also looking forward to having some stability back in his racing life. '" need some stability, and that's why I've got a two-year deal," he said. "It will be my thir d bike in three years . In MotoGp, nobody plays around. Once you get a bit of stability and get time to work and start focusing enough rather than wondering about next year not knowing what is going, that just eases the rider. I want to get on the bike the day after Valencia [for test ing on November I in Spain], but it is still under negotiation . I just want to get a feel for w hat the thing is like and get some time on it . Telef6nica, CastroI and Honda all have to agree to re lease me early." 40th Anniversary Schnitz Gets t he Blues in Memphis Ryan Schnitz was the star of the AMNP rostar Schnitz Memphis Blues Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park in Memphis. Tennessee. on October 3, scoring a double win with titles in the Lee's Performance 10000c SuperSport class and the Zero Gravity 600cc SuperSport class. Schnitz has been dominant in the 1000cc class all season on the Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-I OR. This, his sixth win of the year, locked up the season championsh ip and was punctuated by a new, elapsed-time record of 8.900 seconds the first-ever 8-second run for the liter sportbikes - ru n in the first round of eliminations. Schnitz backed the record up with an 8.998 elapsed time in the final against Norman Jackson. Schnitz made his first appearance of the season in the 600cc class riding the Team Green ZX-6R vacated by Chip Ellis, who signed a contract to ride the S&S Buell for G2 Motorsports in NHRA Pro Stock Bike competition. Schnitz, a twotime Prostar 600cc SuperSport champion, picked up where he left off in 2002, qualifying on the pole and running the table with the lowest e.t. of the event in the final over Team Green rider Chad Millholland. It was business as usual for larry "Spiderman"McBride inTopFuelas the now